Between the Ends: May 17, 2016

ARE WE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

 

Someone asked me a few weeks ago, “Hey pastor, who do you think was Cain’s wife?” I did my best impression of a pastor who knows, and I do think I offered the correct answer but here’s a thought… often the questions we ask in response to an assertion or question, will help further understanding. The other day, another person asked me, ” how would you respond if someone said that their sinful behavior is acceptable before God because the Holy Spirit said it was okay?” Again, the best answer might be found at the end of the questions we ask.

In a great piece by John Stonestreet from Breakpoint Daily, Stonestreet provides a toolkit for responding to especially controversial questions that come our way. I’ll include the link to the article at the end, but the take-away here is a series of questions that can be offered, “When you know that to have an opinion counter to the new cultural orthodoxy is to be thought of as hateful or intolerant.”

I might add that one of the skills most used by Jesus was the practice of asking poignant questions to drive the individual back to the real issue behind their question. I’ll list Stonestreet’s toolkit for you:

  1. What do you mean by that?The battle of ideas is a battle over the meaning of words. 
  2. How do you know that is true?Assertions are not necessarily arguments.
  3. Where did you get this information? Make sure they have the facts.
  4. How did you come to this conclusion? Behind most questions, as I said earlier is a hurt, a story, or a pain that is looking for relief. 
  5. Final two questions? What if you’re wrong? What if you’re right? Ideas and actions bring consequences.Are we prepared to face them? 
 
Want to see more? Go to Breakpoint.org for more information.
 
Who’s on your prayer list this week?   
Have you asked God to bless our church, its pastor, or the church that you attend lately?